Self-evaluation as a means of improving pre-school education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Self-evaluation as a means of improving pre-school education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Pedagogy and didactics; Early childhood education and care

Project Summary

The core of a good school is a good teacher. Our aim is to support teachers, as ones of the most relevant stakeholders in the whole preschool educational process. We aim to improve their competences, support their educational opportunities and strengthen their position in the eyes of parents. The concept of self-evaluation is a quite new concept and its application in preschool education may help teachers to enhance the quality of their educational activities namely, increase the level of adoption of new abilities and skills by preschoolers. Adoption of the new methodology on how to implement the self-evaluation concept into the educational process reinforces pedagogical competences of preschool teachers. In today’s world, parents have huge opportunities to get information about parenting and also about preschool education, they also discuss many issues with friends and relatives. Unfortunately, there is also a big room for myths and misleading advice, which makes the situation more challenging for teachers who need to provide parents with more qualified and understandable arguments than before. With the help of innovative and sophisticated pedagogical methods helping children to increase their potential the teachers gain more respect in the eyes of parents and also colleagues.
Our project aims to support teachers in kindergartens with the efficient, user-friendly and also flexible tool for the self-evaluation of their activities and professional competences. The tool will be designed to provide teachers with the relevant and individual information helping them to evaluate and develop their competences. The records can be made in paper or digital form which makes the tool users-friendly. The tool will be flexible and adaptable for the individual needs of each teacher and also region.
The main innovation our team experts and practitioners offers is the application of the new concept of self-evaluation, the concept that will be tested, scientifically proved and discussed with all stakeholders.
We do not have the ambition to create new models and theories, we aim to collect and analyze existing approaches and design, test and implement a new methodological tool in accordance with current knowledge and opportunities we have. We will focus on its usability. It will be the most important innovativeness of our project.
We plan to maintain the following activities:
1. describing and sharing the current methods of self-evaluation and identifying the needs of teachers for the advanced and innovative methods and determining the “Quality framework of teacher work in preschool”
2. defining and creating a methodological tool for teachers both in paper and in digital form
3. implementation of the new methodological tool into the daily routine
4. Dissemination of the outcomes

There are 6 partnering organisations involved in the project:
1)Vzdělávací a diagnostické středisko STEP s.r.o. (Czechia) – coordination partner, counselling centre
2) Základní a mateřská škola Barrandov (Czechia) – kindergarten
3) Budur Nene Hatun Anaokulu (Turkey) – kindergarten
4) Burdur RehbelikArastirma Merkezi (Turkey) – guidance and research centre
5) University of Latvija (Latvia) – university
6) Rigas pirmsskolas izlitibas iestade Madarina (Latvia) – kindergarten

The outcomes of the project will be available for all educators working in preschool education:
– official outputs (methodological tool, teachers guide)
– Information kit (banners, short texts, video and the sources of outputs in relevant countries)
– more comprehensive information about the project in the special section on the website of the leading organization

Our new tool is not only based on scientific theories. The tool should be user-friendly and very beneficial for its users – teachers. Therefore we will prepare in the standard (paper) version and also in two digital versions to eliminate the need for paperwork. The digital application (SW) will be the main innovativeness of our project. The S-E app (the self-evaluation application) will be flexible (adaptable) to respond to the individual needs of teachers/schools. It means the teachers will be able to set up their goals and evaluate the achieved results more easily than when using the paper version. The app can be used on mobile devices, which makes it more flexible.

We expect the positive results will lead to the enhancement of teaching competences of preschool teachers, first in the participating kindergartens and then also in other regions and countries.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 91785 Eur

Project Coordinator

Vzdělávací a diagnostické středisko STEP s.r.o. & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Budur Nene Hatun Anaokulu
• LATVIJAS UNIVERSITATE
• Rīgas pirmsskolas izglītības iestāde Madariņa
• Zakladni skola a materska skola Barrandov, Praha 5 – Hlubocepy, Chaplinovo nam. 1/615
• Burdur Rehberlik Arastirma Merkezi